Defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, the Broncos’ first-round draft choice from the University of North Carolina, met with the media Friday afternoon at Dove Valley and told about becoming emotional when he received the phone call Thursday night from the Broncos telling him the news.

Williams, 6-foot-3 and 313 pounds, made 13 ½ tackles for losses and had six sacks this season as a senior for the Tar Heels. He took a visit to the Broncos before the draft, then was chosen No. 28 by Denver.

“I knew about the Broncos,” Williams said. “It is a great organization. I knew they had one of the best defenses last year and have one of the greatest quarterbacks (Peyton Manning).

“Coming here for a visit last week, I knew I had a strong visit. I knew this is where I wanted to be. So when I had the opportunity, and the Broncos took me, I couldn’t even talk. I was so happy.

“When the phone rang and it showed the 303 area code. I honestly couldn’t talk because I was in tears,” he added. “For me, it was like ‘Wow.’ Everything I’ve worked for, this is what it pointed to.”

As bad timing would have it, Williams said he lost phone service briefly after receiving the call.

“I was asking for another phone,” he said. “I didn’t want to not be picked because I couldn’t answer the phone. Then I saw my name on TV, that I was picked by the Broncos. My family was jumping around going crazy.

“Then I was running around trying to get phones to try to call (the Broncos) back.”

Williams, from Jefferson City, Mo., said he is motivated by his father, Sylvester Williams Sr.

“My father tried to raise four kids by himself; that’s what motivates me,” Williams said. “And for me, I love the game of football. Even when I’m done playing, I want to stay around the game somehow.”

Broncos executive John Elway introduced Williams.

“We’re thrilled with Sylvester, quick, fast and a penetrator,” Elway said. “We’ve been looking for that anchor for a long, long time. We think we found him.”

Williams played only one year of high school and worked for a time in a factory before deciding that football was his calling.

“I was watching college football, and I noticed that there were a lot of guys 300 pounds,” Williams said. “I realized I had an opportunity to play, and I thought I had the ability. So I thought I’d give it a try.”

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